Amanda Knief, managing director of American Atheists, said a report from Fox News on Wednesday about the billboards led to a national outpouring of “vitriol, threats and hate speech against our staff, volunteers and Adams Outdoor Advertising.”

If Adams Outdoor Advertising had not been involved, American Atheists would have kept the billboards in place, Knief said.

“It was a mutual decision between us and Adams Advertising for the safety and interests of both organizations that the billboards come down,” Knief said.

Knief declined to say the severity of the threats made against the New Jersey-based atheist organization, but said the Cranford police department had been contacted.

But the company’s website issued a statement saying that the company “stands behind our position that the ability to express one’s opinion is a right and a privilege of our democratic society. However, due to the public response to the messaging, the American Atheists have agreed to remove the advertising copy in question in Charlotte.”